We get DMs on LinkedIn from leaders who are curious about what exactly we do with the executives and leadership teams we coach. We decided why not create a post about the process we built. You don’t have to be a client to benefit from considering some of the questions and areas of focus below.
In reality, there’s no cookie cutter path because every leader, organization, and industry are so unique. At the same time there is a high-level process we like to follow at our firm. Our work is designed to do one thing: immediately impact results.
Business is no different than sports. The way you judge a coach is by looking at the scoreboard. Executive coaches are a complete waste of time and money if they’re not helping you move the needle on the metrics that matter most: revenue, margin, quality, safety, customer satisfaction, engagement, and retention.
CLARIFY
We always begin our work with an executive or their team by getting clarity on a few critical things. We start with the destination. What 1-2 numbers define success three years from now? Is it hitting a revenue number? Is it a gaining a certain market share? What is the most important number you have to hit?
A big part of that conversation is mission and purpose.
Trying to deliver a number without a compelling mission or purpose attached to it doesn’t generate much passion from the people you need motivated to succeed.
Once we have clarity around the results your team or organization must deliver now we focus on you. Through a process we won’t get into here we uncover your Leader Identity®. How do you – and others – define you are a leader? Our proprietary process provides you clarity around the type of leader you are.
At that time we share with you the Growth Identity®. These are the characteristics that are always part of the identity of a leader who generates growth. This data comes from our two decades of work and research involving leaders across all industries.
The outcome of this first phase of our work with you and/or your team is clarity around where the gaps exist that need the most urgent attention. What adjustments are needed in how you lead in order to help you deliver the results that matter most?
MOVE
The second phase of our work with executives is around generating movement. We do this through what we call One° Habits.
These are small shifts that generate significant immediate impact.
Every executive we work with has 2-3 One° Habits they are implementing at all times. These are experiences designed to shift beliefs that are slowing down desired business results. We help you define those habits and stay accountable to them.
Part of this phase is also identifying the internal and external threats that exist to you implementing these habits. What in your own thinking is getting in the way? What muscle memory is holding you back? We also consider what mindsets and systems exist in the organization or industry that are likely to slow you down?
Behavior change is always proceeded by a change in mindset.
The world’s best athletes are all working on fine-tuning their game. They work with coaches and trainers who help them make small shifts that have big impact. That’s our job with you. It’s what we do.
ADJUST
All of our work is built around analytics. Our proprietary real-time analytics tool provides you a dashboard of how your leadership is affecting business outcomes. We measure this using the latest technology that provides insights into what your team is thinking in a completely unintrusive process.
Professional sports teams measure everything. The data provides insight into what areas need attention. Most companies measure a ton of things too. Except leadership. We know how good a sales rep is by their current stats. Leadership is no different.
We provide the real-time analytics that will help you measure your impact leading others.
The data will show what One° Habits that you’ve implemented are moving the needle and which ones aren’t. Based on that information we’ll want to make adjustments to accelerate impact.
IMPACT
None of what we do is based on theory. It’s all time-tested and proven to work.
The job of a coach is to improve someone’s ability to impact the outcome.
In this post we’ve provided an 80-thousand-foot view of our process. What’s the famous quote about war? No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. The same applies to our line of work as well.
Our job is to be in the trenches with you helping you process the constant changes you must respond to and deal with. That’s the value of working with lots of leaders across different industries. What you’re dealing with is likely not entirely new. Other executives are confronting those same challenges. We share with you what we’re observing is working elsewhere.
Every player on every team has a coach. We believe the same is true for successful executives.
